Imagine a world where we are not the masters of technology; but technology is the master of us. This has been the scenario of many horrifying techno-apocalypse stories for decades … but it could come sooner than we think.
In our modern world, technology is not only a part of our daily lives, but is running it. From digital access to the entire internet at our fingertips, to personal assistant software programmed to answer questions and undertake tasks, technology is making our lives easier, even as it hastily replaces jobs and duties of our fellow man traditionally did that. Advancement in artificial intelligence promises to continue to make life simpler and become more integrated into our society, but it has limits with the ability to complete only small, finite groups of tasks depending on the programming (i.e. narrow AI). The larger goal of many minds, however, to create a general (or strong) AI, which would outperform humans in all areas…and this is where things sounds like science-fiction.
We’ve heard it before, but the future is now. With it, concepts that were foreign only a few years ago are coming to life in very real ways. Things that have been impossible are happening every day, and though it may seem a long shot, general AI is in the works and could be just around the corner. Intelligent, informed people such as Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk and Bill Gates have complained about the risks associated with evolving AI. This is due in part to recent breakthroughs with AI milestones which experts had previously viewed as decades away. They have reached these milestones in record time. Many believe there is now a serious possibility of super-intelligence in our lifetime, with most AI researchers at the 2015 Puerto Rico Conference estimating it before 2060.
Speaking at the MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics department’s Centennial Symposium, Elon Musk had this to say:
I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I were to guess what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with the artificial intelligence. Increasingly scientists think there should be some regulatory oversight -maybe at the national and international level–just to make sure we don’t do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence we are summoning the demon. In all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water, it’s like yeah he’s sure he can control the demon. Didn’t work out.
Steven Hawking told the BBC: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”
This warning came in response to a potential upgrade to the technology allowing him to communicate, which has an AI addition to it. “It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate,” he said. “Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”
Because AI has the potential to become more intelligent than any human, we are uncertain how it will behave. Despite having no human emotion and no reason to manifest in a sinister or malevolent manner, artificial intelligence will be efficient at completing its goals. If these goals do not align with our own, this could be very dangerous.
There are two primary ways that things could take a turn for the worse with AI. First, they could program it to do something terrible: Autonomous weapons are artificial intelligence systems which hold the program instructions to kill. In the hands of the wrong person, these weapons could easily cause mass casualties. These weapons would likely be difficult to shut down, so it would be likely that humans would soon lose control as the situation escalates. This risk is one that’s present even with narrow AI, but grows as levels of AI intelligence and autonomy increase.
In the second scenario, they program the AI to do something beneficial, but it develops a destructive method for completing its directive. This can happen whenever we cannot align the AI’s goals with ours, which is more difficult than you would expect. One must be specific in giving orders or the results could be devastating. With many examples seen in books and films, these circumstances which once seemed asinine are now just around the corner if we do not take the proper precautions.
Yet, it is already all around us, in our phones, computers, being engineered in labs and schools all over the world. The opportunity for growth exists, and in the same breath the opportunity for failure. Yet despite the potential for catastrophe, and warnings in various forms of media throughout generations (even in our present times by technology experts), the studies continue to move forward continue at a rapid pace. We as humans seem willing to put ourselves at risk to satiate our curiosities, hoping that they will lead us to better tomorrows instead of toward end days.
